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Friday, 5 May 2017

Here's a really useful post on getting your cover right from a site called Author Author.

"Read this guide before making or choosing your book cover.

"They say 'Don't judge a book by it's cover,' so it doesn't really matter

What complete rubbish! Getting a book cover right is vital because unless it catches the eye of someone looking for a book, they will never read the description, never read a sample and never make a purchase. If you are an indie author your cover will make a huge difference to your sales."

Friday, 21 April 2017

For those of
us who self-publish (or rather publish independently of the mainstream
publishers) rejection isn’t as much of an issue, at least not at the outset.

For us
rejection comes too late. It comes when our book is published and available
online through websites such as amazon.com or goodreads.com where reviews by
customers can be scathing. What about the buyers, your friends and family, of
your first book who now are strangely reluctant to invest in your second?

For
mainstream authors a rejection letter could be devastating. Jack London
received over six hundred rejections letters but he went on to be the highest
paid writer of his time. In his book On Writing Stephen King writes of
the hundreds of rejection letters he received. He got pretty discouraged bout
that; his short story Carrie was rejected so many times he
finally threw it in the waste bin. Fortunately for him and his thousands of
fans his wife rescued it, persuaded him to turn it into a novel and the rest, as
they say, is history.

For an
independently published writer we have no such discouragement and, on reading
some self-published stuff one can only wish there was someone to pull the plug.
Indies have to be especially careful and the best way to avoid the
embarrassment of a badly written, badly formatted and badly presented book is
to ask for help.

The very
first step is to find a beta reader; one who is familiar with your genre and
who is prepared to be honest – brutally so if necessary. The next step, after
you’ve taken all your beta-readers points to heart – is to find an editor.
Beta-readers don’t usually bother with the fine detail. They are looking at the
bigger picture; structure, someone who can hypothetically put themselves into
your reader’s shoes. They are not your granny or your mother or your best
friend.

The second
step is to find a good editor. This can be expensive but in the end is
worthwhile. The editor may even be someone who is experienced in formatting
your document so that it looks like a professionally produced book.

One very
important part of your book is to have a professional book cover.Joel Friedlander writes what is probably the
best website for writers at www.thebookdesigner.com.
He has a monthly newsletter of e-book designs. It’s a good site to check out
for what works and doesn’t work on a book cover. Local designer, Bev Robitai of
www.thebookcoach.weebly.com
has consistently produced great covers for my books.

A lot to
think about before you pop that book onto the Internet. Take heart, dear writer!
There is light at the end of the tunnel. There are any number of people out
there who will help you so that you don’t experience the equivalent of a
rejection letter – egg all over your face via an irate reviewer on Amazon.

Friday, 7 April 2017

Very briefly,
plot means what happens in a story. To be more precise, it means an incident or
a series of events leading to important consequences. Plot is simply cause and
effect played out on your page.

Think of
throwing a pebble into a pond. It is a small action but one that leads to big
consequences. Plot is what people (your characters) say, do and feel that makes
a difference to what happens next.

Let’s create
an example: in a moment of mild intoxication Marla tells her best friend, Jodie,
that she once had an affair with Paul, a neighbour. The action of telling her
secret sets off a chain of consequences. The ripples of that particular pebble
will reverberate in the lives of all the characters.

Thought and
emotion can also set off consequences but only once they are acted upon. Jodie
can be angry with Marla for betraying her husband but that’s not plot until
Jodie acts on it. Thinking about or feeling some emotion isn’t plot. But
emotions are a very good way to start an action that leads to further
consequences and thus to a satisfying story.

Also, what
isn’t plot: this happened and then that happened and then this happened and
then that happened. It’s not even a story because there are no consequences.
Something must be at stake and in all the ‘happenings’ there must be something
important enough to bear the weight of consequent ‘happenings’.

A man dies.
That is not a plot. A man dies and his wife dies. Again not much of a plot. A
man dies and his wife commits suicide. We’re getting somewhere; that is the
beginning of a plot. A man dies, his wife commits suicide and her daughter
starts to ask why her father died and why her mother was so frantic that she
kills herself. A plot! The father’s death is the event that has significant
consequences. If the daughter merely felt sad there would be no story.

All plots
emerge from that one moment when something happens that is significant enough
to start off a chain of consequences.

I’m trying
to imagine how I would put those words of wisdom to good use in my present
project. My next Nana Naills story is a crime novel (working title: Nana
and the Nest of Vipers). So the plot hinges on the finding of a dead
body – as you do in a crime story.That’s
my pebble. Ah! Now I see. Each incident has consequences for the suspects. Hmm.
I think I could work with that.

Friday, 24 March 2017

‘Oh to be young again, believe in fairies,
believe in anything. Ageing seems to be a process where not only body parts inevitably
start to wither but also the will to ‘do things’. Once I had yards of ‘wishes’
put aside, hoping they would be achievable eventually (a ‘bucket list’ as it’s
known today).

Horrid name for a receptacle in which to put
such fanciful ideas. I have never yearned to bungy jump or leap off Mt Everest
with a pair of clip-on fairy wings as heights turn me into a blithering coward.
Nor have I hankered to go deep into the bowels of the earth caving. Not enough
room or air down there for one let alone a pas de deux. So that limits me to
simple things being done on the grassy side of terra firma. Pas de deux is
rather a lovely

expression don’t you think? Stimulates even the
most sluggish of imaginations. Must be an exquisite sensation if one could
accomplish this to thunderous applause on stage somewhere. Reaching the
required standard puts this one out of the question and even dancing has its
drawbacks for the not so young. Recently heard of some who’ve suffered serious
joint problems having been coerced into giving Zumba a go. Actually I think it
must be all this heat we are currently experiencing for I really intended
writing about elderly joints and how they may easily be lubricated with a
minimum of effort.

I am talking here of an age-old lubricating
remedy known as G&T and the simplicity with which it may now be purchased.
No more breaking fingernails or cutlery trying to open tonic bottles sealed
with child-and-senior-citizen-proof caps. Comes conveniently already ‘mixed’ in
containers which the sponsors have cunningly made ridiculously easy to open.
Saves on not having to divvy out too much of the precious main ingredient by
mistake.

A trip to your nearest liquor outlet is all
that’s required. Just make sure you always have plenty of lemon slices frozen
inside the ice cube. Easy Peasy.’

Friday, 10 March 2017

For decades the leather suitcase lay
hidden under the house. When opened, it revealed letters, photographs and documents all in
Polish and therefore inaccessible. Many years later one letter, written in
1946, was translated and the awful truth revealed.
The letters and documents told the story of the Siegel family who had lived in
a small Polish village until the Germans came.One son escaped and
arrived in New Zealand where he made a life for himself, not knowing he had
left his entire family to perish in the gas chambers. It is also the story of
the beautiful daughter who could have been saved but chose to go with her
parents to the gas chamber so that they didn't have to face it alone.
It is the story of love and loyalty, of the betrayal of trust and
of compassion.
It is also the story of the worst crime in our history and how it
brought out the best in some people - but also the worst.

I met Michael
Siegel in about 2001, he told me of the suitcase that had been hidden under
their childhood house and only recently recovered. I asked the family if I
might investigate and see if it was possible to write a book about it. The
letters needed to be translated and a good friend, Eva Scherer, came to my
rescue. It was a gruelling journey for her too, reading those letters, as her
Gentile family also had a bleak history in Poland; the “dark” land where so
many, both Jews and Gentiles, had perished.
I only became aware of the tension between Polish Jews and Gentiles through my
research and my conversations with the Siegel family. As I discovered that many
Polish Gentiles rescued Jews during the Holocaust so my standing with the
family deteriorated. This was not what they had been told.

It has been a
long and difficult journey. I feel privileged that, of all the millions of
anonymous victims of Hitler, I have been able to get to know and cherish this
one family. By remembering them I can honour all those who will forever remain
anonymous.

Reviews:

Michelle:I've just finished your book. I'm
awed, humbled, inspired, chastened. What a remarkable, heart-filled, well
researched, powerful, sensitive, beautiful work of compassion! I don't want to muddy the waters with too many
words; but I want you to know that I think it's one of the best books I've ever
read. What a gift you've crafted for so many people, Jenny! Wow. ❤️

Ann R:
Now I understand why this was such a difficult book for you to write. You have
told the family's story with integrity, humbleness and truth. Not a pretty
story due to the topic, but one that has helped me to understand the plight of
the Jewish community in Poland more fully. You have done an amazing job getting
this book to print - a tragic story told beautifully. Once I started reading it
I couldn't put it down. I hope many, many people read it. Thank you for sharing
this story.

Bev R: Well done on a powerful and
impeccably research piece of work! The historical facts are dramatic but the
present day effects are equally riveting as you go through the process of
writing and dealing with the family. Great human interest. It stands as a
strong testament to the lost souls who need to be remembered. You’ve been
deeply respectful of the family and they should be proud of your work.

Brenda:Culture, fiction and fact collide as Jenny Harrison takes us on an
emotional journey as she sensitively tells the story of one man, family, city
and country caught in unspeakable events that precipitated WWII. Part detective
story, she draws together fragmented and scanty evidence found in a hidden suitcase,
symbolic of a family torn apart. Bit by bit she uncovers the story of
Naftali Siegel, the eldest son of a Polish Jewish family. Born in Pruchnik,
he is sent by his family to Italy in 1933 to train as a vet. Once qualified he
had the good fortune to be assisted in 1938 by the Commission for the Relief of
Jews in Italy, who forged documents for him to emigrate to Australia, and then
to New Zealand. He appears to have tried to help his family or at least
his sister Malka escape from Poland. Malka could pass as an Aryan German,
and had an offer of a forged passport and papers. Far away from the war,
it was not until 1959 that Naftali discovered that Malka had, in
1942, been gassed with her family in Belzec extermination camp. Speakingher truth quietly, Jenny shows that speaking
of the unspeakable is an essential first step in healing of deep emotional
wounds.

Amazon Customer:Superb! Brilliant book
that opened my eyes and showed me things I never even considered. Very well
written!

John R: Well
written and well researched on relations of Jews and Poles over centuries.

Ken J: The book to say the least is so interesting I could
not put it down. I gave it to a friend whose grandfather was German and had, I
think, relatives in Poland and he found it the same, so enthralling.

Gavin: This is a fascinating, well
researched and well written story that draws you in and makes you want to keep
reading into the early hours of the morning to see how the lives of the Siegel
family will unfold. This is a story of Naftali, his family but also a story of
the author's research and interaction with the family. A riveting read that I
couldn't put down till the last page was turned.

Sunday, 9 October 2016

I’m not a professional editor but I reckon that
over the past two decades of writing, I’ve picked up an idea or two on how to
structure a sentence, what passes for good grammar and how to spell. Not only
that, I’ve got a very good sense of the music inherent in good writing.

I remember my very first first-author tantrum. It
was during the edit of my book, Debbie’s Story. I feathered my
returned manuscript with Post-It notes, all the places where the editor had
changed something and with which I totally disagreed.‘This was exactly how it happened’. ‘How can
you change that?’ ‘You’re killing off my voice!’ I cried. My voice? As a
first-time author what did I know about voice? And how was any editing going to
do that? In fact, I knew very little about the role of the editor and cared
even less. My beloved, my baby, my perfect manuscript was sacrosanct. As with
all newbie author’s my ego was up there with the 747s.

It was only much later, about the time I published
my third book that I began to respect the role of the editor. A good editor refines
a manuscript, takes the rough stone and cuts and polishes it until it shines.
In doing so, the editor allows the author’s voice to be heard above the clamour
of awkward paragraphs, mis-spelled words and poor grammar.

I was recently asked to edit the book of a friend.
She had written a cheery little thing that I was anxious to see succeed. For a
first-time author she had done well except for the usual glitches inherent with
first-time writers. I spent days doing what I do best. She hated it. ‘You have
ruined my voice’; ‘this wasn’t what I’d written’. She took back the manuscript
and changed my editing. Okay, you might say, her privilege.

Yes, maybe. But it saddened me to see what could
have been a professional book turned back into that of a first-time amateur.
Not only that, it’s hard enough to keep the reputation of self-published books
high…

I suppose if I were a professional and had charged
her for my services, she would have had more respect for my skill.

I know it is neither ethical nor legal to biff an old lady
round the chops and, fortunately, few even contemplate it. But yesterday I came
close to having my face re-arranged – all on the altar of accurate vocabulary.

I bumped into an acquaintance in the supermarket; in the
toiletry aisle actually. She said she was looking for something for her
partner. Perhaps I could help her find it?

‘Of course,’ I said, gazing around. ‘Is he or she your
business partner or your sex partner?’

She looked puzzled and I repeated my question. Then the
penny, as they say, dropped. Her eyes narrowed and took on a menacing glitter
and her lips thinned in an aggressive line. I thought I saw her hands ball into
fists before she stalked away.

Now, I ask you? What did I do? I was only trying to clarify
the situation. She called this unknown person her partner. I didn’t know what
sort of relationship she had. Now, in my day (yes, I know things change but
they shouldn’t, not when language loses its edge and meaning) in my day a
partner was someone you did business with. Today it means someone you do the
business with. We used to call that ‘living-in-sin’.

If my acquaintance had been clear that this person was
engaged in the morally dubious activity of ‘living-in-sin’ with her then we
both would have known where we stood.

Today a husband or a wife is a partner. Murder is homicide.
Rape is sexual assault. I find all this modern PC faffing about with words
tiring and confusing. It’s just a way of fudging whatever activity you’re
describing so that it doesn’t sound unethical or immoral or just plain bad.

Anyway, good on my acquaintance for walking away but not so
good on her for allowing herself to be hoodwinked into being a ‘partner’ and
not a wife.